1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bottom-mounted slides and methods of manufacturing the slides and, more particularly, to a bottom-mounted slide which is slid by balls which roll between a movable member and a stationary member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, bottom-mounted slides are provided between drawers and bodies of, e.g., desks, to enable users to easily open or close the drawers. For example, in the case of a three-stage folding style bottom-mounted slide, a stationary member is fastened to a sidewall or bottom plate of a drawer by an extension. A movable member is fastened to a lower surface of a bottom plate of a desk. Three raceways are formed in each of both lateral sides of an intermediate member. Furthermore, a plurality of balls is located between the stationary member and the intermediate member and between the movable member and the intermediate member. The balls roll along the raceways. Thereby, the intermediate member slides along the stationary member, and the movable member slides along the intermediate member.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional bottom-mounted slide 10 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,020. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional bottom-mounted slide 10 includes a movable member 13, a stationary member 17 and an intermediate member 14 which is interposed between the movable member 13 and the stationary member 17.
In the conventional bottom-mounted slide 10, the stationary member 17 is fastened to a sidewall panel 16 of a body of, for example, a desk, and the movable member 13 is fastened to the lower surface of a drawer panel 11. Three raceways are formed on each of lateral sides of the intermediate member 14.
Balls 15 are provided between the movable member 13 and the intermediate member 14 and between the intermediate member 14 and the stationary member 17. The balls 15 roll along the corresponding raceways so that the intermediate member 14 slides along the stationary member 17 and the movable member 13 slides along the intermediate member 14. As such, the slide 10 is generally operated in a three-stage folding manner.
However, in the conventional bottom-mounted slide 10 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,020, because the width of the movable member 13 is relatively small, its stability with respect to rotational moment is markedly reduced when a comparatively high load is applied to the slide 10.
In an effort to overcome these problems, the applicant of the present invention proposed a wide-width style bottom-mounted slide in Korean Patent Application No. 2007-17214. As shown in FIG. 2, the slide 100 of No. 2007-17214 includes a first member 130 which substantially supports a load. Triangular raceway forming parts are respectively provided on the lateral sides of the first member 130. An extension 145 which is oriented in the vertical direction is provided between the triangular raceway forming parts. A horizontal web is longer than a lateral web.
The conventional slide 100 can increase the stability with respect to the rotational moment when a comparatively high load is applied thereto. However, the conventional slide 100 is problematic in that a defective proportion of movable members produced by roll-forming increases and, in particular, there is a comparatively high proportion of defective raceway forming parts formed by roll-forming.